Theft Of The Sword
by AnvilBlue
Summary: A more traditionally styled Redwall fanfic with a twist. The Sword of Martin has been stolen by a thief, an abbeybeast lies murdered at its paw, but something far less simplistic is going on. ::rewrite::
1. Chapter One

(Disclaimer; I do not own Redwall nor any characters or places seen in the Redwall Series by Brian Jacques, they are copyrighted to him.)  
  
~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter One~  
  
The moon hung high in the sky, illuminating the abbey known as Redwall in the nighttime hours. The normally beautiful, red-stoned abbey was turned cold and menacing by the pale orb in the sky. From the forests surrounding the abbey a pair of dark green eyes watched the sentries posted upon the great walls. They were lit only by a few torches, revealing one of the sentries to be an otter, the other a small mouse, both armed with a spear and a sling. Neither beast saw the pair of eyes watching them, neither saw the bushes stir as it made its way to the wall, neither heard the crunching of the fallen foliage. The moonlight revealed that the eyes belonged to a medium sized beast cloaked in black shawls, camouflaging it in the night hours. The eyes belonged to a thief.  
  
Staring up at the wall, the thief breathed a sigh of relief that the two guards had not noticed its presence before setting about it work, removing a hook wrapped in cloth and a length of rope from within its cloaks. With a final glance up at the wall it spun the hook around to gain enough momentum before letting it sail over the top of the wall to land with a muffled clang. Quickly the beast climbed up the rope and let itself over the side of the wall, taking care to remain silent and out of sight of the two sentries.  
  
"So far, so good . . ." The thief muttered in a young, male voice to itself before freezing at the sounds of the guards.  
  
"It's time already?" A deep voice called out, probably the otter. Staying well below the wall, the thief watched the two guards as a pair of otters joined them, one male and one female. Breathing another sigh of relief as he realized what was going on, only a simple shift change. Ignoring the otters for the moment, the thief removed out a small map of Redwall from his cloaks, glancing over the wall for landmarks at the darkened main building of the ground, only a soft glow coming from the great hall. Quickly he replaced the map in his cloak, drawing out a pair of medium sized, curved daggers from the black cloth.  
  
"See ya on the 'morrow, mate." One of the fresh sentries called over the wall to the otter and mouse he had relieved, the thief glanced over the wall in a quick movement to find that they had disappeared through the great, wooden doors into the abbey's main building.  
  
"Wish we had brought a bit o' food out with us, don't you?" Another voice, the female otter, asked her fellow sentry. Moving quickly the thief stalked along, hidden by the wall from the light of the torches, until he was just to the side of the two otters as they stood at the outer edge of the wall, watching the darkened forests surrounding Redwall for any signs, unaware of the danger that lurked behind them. Moving quietly behind the backs of the sentries he poised himself to strike, flipping one of his daggers up into the air, catching it by the point.  
  
"Aye, that I do, but-"The otter never finished as a dagger hilt struck him at the back of the skull, knocking the sentry unconscious. The female otter could only watch as her fellow otter slumped over the outer wall as a blur streaked towards her and she too found herself knocked unconscious with a blow to the side of her skull, her body crumpling like a rag. Knowing that they wouldn't be unconscious for too long, the thief ran down the stairs, skipping over steps as he went, making a break for the doors to the great hall. Silently he slipped inside, barely cracking the door.  
  
"Now where is it?" The thief whispered softly, walking through the empty hall slowly, glancing at the empty tables that had been filled just a few hours ago by the good beasts of Redwall. Suddenly he saw his prize, gleaming with the torchlight just above the Tapestry of Redwall, the mighty sword of Martin, but before the thief could make a move for the blade he heard the soft sound of paw steps coming down from the dormitories. Dodging under a table just a few yards from the Tapestry and his prize, the thief waited as a pretty otter maid, dressed in a flowing, white night gown made her way into the Great Hall. At first the thief began to move towards the Tapestry, knowing that he could dispatch a lone maiden without too much trouble, but he halted as another beast came down the stairs, a tall, burly male otter.  
  
"Came down ta see Martin?" The otter asked in a reasonable baritone, putting a paw on the otter maid's shoulder.  
  
"Just to thank him for bringing you back to us." She replied with a smile, wiping a few tears from her eyes.  
  
"Aye, he has my thanks as well." With that they stood in silence, not realizing the danger that lurked just a few yards away, silently cursing beneath a table. Removing his pair of daggers from his cloak once more the thief rolled out from under his hiding place into the main aisle of the Great Hall as the pair of otters stared up at the figure of the heroic mouse on t he Tapestry, holding a likeness of the sword that rested just above it.  
  
"Ye best get a bit of sleep before daylight comes, Mother Abbess." The male said with a grin, stepping towards the stairway up to the dormitories, but he never made it, crumpling to the ground with a loud thud, the dagger that had fallen him clattering to the ground beside his body. The otter maid glanced to the tables, letting out a scream as the thief was revealed, emerging from the shadows, dagger drawn. 


	2. Chapter Two

~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter Two~  
  
In a flash of the thief's dagger the ottermaid fell into a motionless heap, a dark, crimson stain across her throat. Outside the Great Hall one of the had risen from her state of unconsciousness with a throbbing headache, at the sound of the scream she bolted towards the doors into the abbey, her spear in paw, ready for anything. Inside the thief gathered up the dagger he had knocked out the male otter with, quickly he climbed up the tapestry to take the sword of Martin from its perch.  
  
Sliding it into a sheath lashed on his back that seemed to have been made for the weapon, the thief breathed a soft sigh of relief as his heart began to beat normally. Having taken his prize the thief sprinted towards the door to the inner grounds of the abbey, but just when he had gotten halfway to the door, it opened to reveal the lone sentry, her spear held out in front of her defensively as she saw the thief emerging from the shadows.  
  
"Halt!" She called out, hoping to at least make the thief hesitate, but it did not slow for the sentry barreling into her, throwing both of them to the ground and backwards into the courtyards. The wind knocked out of her, the otter could only watch as the thief leapt to his foot paws darting towards the outer wall and the gatehouse.  
  
As quickly as she could the sentry was up again, her sling out and loaded as she chased after her attacker, but by the time she was halfway to the outer wall's stairs the thief had reached the top and disappeared over the wall. When the otter maid had reached the top she let loose a sling stone, but it was already far too late, even if she hit the thief it wouldn't have too much effect from that sort of range. In the distance, barely visible even with the full moon above, she saw the thief cut to right and off the path, disappearing into the thick foliage of the forest.  
  
"Peri?" A weak voice asked, breaking the silence of the cold night air.  
  
"Aro!" Peri rushed to her fellow otter's side, dropping her weapons as she knelt down beside him, checking him over for any wounds. "Ye all right, mate?"  
  
"Me ole head ain't, how 'bout you?" The otter asked, trying to rise, still somewhat dazed, failing to get above a crouch, leaning heavily on the wall.  
  
"I'm fine I guess." It was really a lie, her head throbbed painfully, but he was off worse then her, she could see a damp spot at the back of his skull where the hilt of the dagger had struck. "C'mon we best get ye inside."  
  
"Sounds good." Aro replied as the smaller otter maid supported his weight, leading him down off the wall and through the courtyard to the Great Hall. Once inside they found the Hall lit up brightly as it had been at suppertime, a crowd of abbey beasts gathered below the tapestry of Martin the Warrior. Worried, Peri made her way quickly towards the crowd, wondering what the thief had done to cause this sort of crowd, but remembering the scream she knew what it had to be.  
  
"Peri! Are you two all right?" A mouse at the edges of the crowd had noticed the pair as they staggered down the main aisle of the Great Hall, rushing to meet them halfway to the Tapestry, helping the ottermaid with the dazed sentry.  
  
"We're fine enough, what 'appened?" She demanded, carefully setting the still half-conscious Aro down on a table.  
  
"Somebeast stole the sword of Martin, Deyna was knocked out an'. . .an'. . ." The mouse stuttered for the moment, seeming to fight back tears as he spoke. " . . .They found Mother Mhera, her throat was slashed, they have her up in the infirmary right now." At these words Peri pushed through the crowd to find Deyna, the abbey warrior, up on his foot paws, but barely conscious as he stood, leaning heavily against the wall.  
  
"Deyna, ye all right, matey?" Nimbalo, a mouse that Deyna had brought into abbey upon his arrival, asked his friend, a look of worry upon his face.  
  
"Who did this?" The warrior otter demanded, his voice cold and menacing.  
  
"It was a thief, sir." Peri had stepped through the crowd to the otter's side. "He came for Martin's sword, he snuck up behind us an' got in, we couldn't stop him." She explained, a little nervous talking to the otter, but mostly she was just ashamed of the fact that she hadn't been able to stop the thief.  
  
"You saw the thief, where'd the scum go?" Deyna demanded from the ottermaid, now fully conscious, with a rage burning deep within his eyes.  
  
"He went down the main path and went northwards into the forest, probably towards the river." Peri answered, gulping in fear at the look in the warrior's eyes. Suddenly the otter left, pushing through the crowds towards the door to the courtyards. Nimbalo made a move to follow his friend, but the paw of a pretty squirrel maid stopped him.  
  
"I don't think ye want ta be goin' near Deyna anytime soon. Anything happening to Mhera is more than enough ta push him over the edge. May as well be the blood wrath." The squirrel maid muttered as she held the mouse back, her face mirroring the look of worry on his.  
  
"But . . ." He began, but Fwirl simply silenced him with a wave of her paw.  
  
"C'mon, let's go check on Mhera, it's the best thing we can do for him right now." She told him with a sigh, as with a glance towards the now closed door, the mouse nodded his consent, following the squirrel maid as she made her way upstairs. Meanwhile outside, Deyna had left the safety of the abbey, a spear in paw, the blood of the Taggerung flowing in his veins. He was hunting, following a trail of footprints as only he could, a vengeful desire for the thief's blood alive his soul. 


	3. Chapter Three

~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter Three~  
  
As Deyna began to track him, the thief was far ahead, running as fast as he could to put the abbey behind him, leaving an obvious trail of footprints in his rush that were, luckily for the thief, partially obscured by a cold night wind that had begun to pick up. By the time the sun had begun to rise the thief was far ahead of the otter warrior, who had by now cooled off enough that he could track the thief, but by now his prey had a considerable lead. Yet, even with his lead, the thief ran on as if the demons of hell were upon him, already he could see a plume of smoke rising lazily from where he knew his master's camp to be, but even the sight of his destination did not calm him. He did not slow his pace until he could see the edge of the camp and the two weasel sentries there guarding the southern side, waiting for him.  
  
"So yer back, mate?" One of the weasels, the taller of the two, stepped forward sneering as he grabbed the thief by his arm so that he could not escape. Meanwhile the other, smaller weasel simply looked on, a slight look of disgust upon its face, both weasels dwarfed the thief.  
  
"Aye." The thief answered monotonously, a hint of depression lining his voice as well as a more obvious angry tone. He knew that he could not resist even with the size difference aside he could not fight back.  
  
"Don't worry, yer right on time, Kyin." The smaller weasel spoke, his voice much more friendly, but carrying a note of dread. All three knew what was to happen.  
  
"Best get this scum ta Olin, he'll want ta see 'im." The first weasel stated, quickly pulling Kyin towards the camp, yanking the thief right off his foot paws. Unceremoniously the weasel dragged him through the dirt, a cruel smile upon the weasel's face, until they reached a large tent set up at the center of the camp.  
  
"Ah . . .so my little thief is back." Kyin heard as he was tossed into the middle of the structure at the foot paw of the creature known as Olin, a medium sized pine martin with pitch black fur all over, who simply stared down at the thief from his makeshift throne, cold gray eyes boring into the beast who lay upon the ground.  
  
"So I am." Kyin muttered, struggling to his foot paws, but before he could stand he was knocked back into the waiting arms of the two weasel sentries, throwing off the thief's hood to reveal a young ferret, blood streaming down his muzzle as he stared down, in a daze from the blow.  
  
"Do not speak, slave. Not until I ask you a question." Olin sneered, lowering the small club he had just used, wiping a bit of blood from it as he did so. "Did you get it?" The pine martin asked, rising from his seat. Club in paw the martin tilted the ferret's head up so he could look into its eye, repeating his question once more. "Did you get the sword?"  
  
"Answer him, scum." One of weasel sentries demanded, raising a paw to strike the young ferret.  
  
"Yes." Kyin answered in a weak voice, spitting out a bit of blood. Immediately at the word the smaller weasel took the scabbard from the ferret's cloak, tossing it on the ground next to Olin.  
  
"Ah, very good my little thief. Your talent has served you well." The martin smiled as he removed the sword from its sheath, admiring its keen edge, the fine craftsmanship and the brilliant ruby set into the hilt before showing it around to the beasts in the tent. "And here it is, Redwall's pride and joy, the sword of Martin." Olin smiled as he sheathed the sword once more, tossing it onto his makeshift throne before turning to address the two weasel sentries. "You . . ." He began, pointing to the taller weasel, " . . .go back and make sure that he was followed, cover his tracks. And you . . ." He continued, pointing to the other weasel sentry, " . . .take this, take the supplies and throw it back into the cage."  
  
"Yes, sir." Both weasel answered in unison, saluting smartly. Still somewhat dazed, Kyin felt himself being pulled to his foot paws and helped out of the tent back into the camp.  
  
"Did ye do it, mate?" The weasel whispered to the ferret as he began to shake off the blow from the pine martin's club.  
  
"Yeah, somebeast will find that trail. Anybeast with eyes could the trail I left . . ." Kyin replied in a whisper as well, staring down at the ground to make sure that anybeast looking couldn't see that he was talking.  
  
"How 'bout the other thing?" The weasel asked, his voice filled with anxiety as they moved through the busy camp, all the horde beasts going about their daily routines as always, ignoring both Kyin and his escort as they walked by.  
  
"Yeah, I did it. He should be out for blood. He'll definitely follow . . ." Kyin replied with a soft sigh before he glanced up to look the weasel in the eye. " Do you really think this'll work?" He asked, a small glimmer of hope in the young ferret's eyes.  
  
"I sure hope so. Don't worry; we'll all be out of here soon . . ." The weasel muttered in response, trying to reassure the young ferret, while at the same time trying to believe his own words.  
  
"I hope your right." The ferret whispered as they finally reached the cages, a long row of them hidden by foliage, beaten and broken creatures locked inside the steel confines, guarded by a dozen or so armed horde beasts.  
  
"Ye best give me your cloak an' daggers." At this the ferret nodded, removing the black cloaks that had camouflaged him at night, as well as the belt with his twin daggers, to reveal a slightly gaunt figure dressed in an old, torn tunic and a pair of pants. "Give my regards to our sisters, Kyin." The weasel whispered just before a guard walked over to them and they could not speak anymore.  
  
"Olin want 'im back in his cage, Hallan?" One of the guards, a short rat armed with a rapier, asked the weasel as he approached the pair.  
  
"Aye, that's why he's 'ere." Hallan nodded, turning Kyin over to the rat that immediately shoved the young ferret into a cage roughly, sending his into the back bars of the cage that had been opened by another guard behind him. Kyin hit the bars hard, slumping to the floor of the small cage, groaning as the guards outside merely laughed.  
  
"Kyin?" A tiny voice asked, placing a comforting paw on Kyin's shoulder. Rolling over Kyin found himself staring up into a young ferret maid who looked nearly to him. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah don't worry 'bout your big bro. Ain't nothin' they can do ta me, Silver." He lied with a soft smile as another young beast came over to his side, a little weasel maid, barely out of her dibbunhood.  
  
"How long will it be, Kyin?" The little weasel maid asked, her eyes red from crying.  
  
"Don't worry, Shale. Your brother sends his love, we'll be out of here soon enough, he'll make sure of that." He whispered to the little weasel maid, wiping away a tear before turning his gaze to the camp and the retreating figure of Hallan. "At least, I hope so." He muttered, speaking far too softly for either maid to hear his words. Meanwhile, at Redwall Abbey, the abbey dwellers waited around anxiously for news of their abbesses' health, wondering where their warrior had gone. 


	4. Chapter Four

~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter Four~  
  
Back at Redwall Abbey, nearly every creature living within the great sandstone walls, save for the dibbuns and their caretakers, were tightly packed into the hall just outside the infirmary. They were awaiting news of Abbess Mhera's condition, hoping that their fears would not be realized and though it had only been a couple hours, already there was nervous chatter about the terrible 'what if'. Only Nimbalo seemed to be the only beast left with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. Suddenly the door to the infirmary cracked open and Sister Alkanet stepped out into the hall to face a barrage of questions from the abbey beasts. The infirmary keeper held up her paws for silence, but eventually was forced to resort to silencing them with her legendary icy glare.  
  
"I know that all of you are very worried for our abbess, but . . ." Everybeast in the hall tensed at the mouse maid's words, all of them confused by the puzzled expression upon Alkanet's face, all of them fearing for the worst. " . . .Fortunately for us, Mhera is perfectly fine." This new information caused a great sigh of relief before the abbey beast broke into murmurs and whispers, all of them confused.  
  
"But sister, we all saw her throat." One voice rose above the rest, that of a young hedgehog maid, setting of a wave of nods of agreement among the abbey beasts as they awaited Sister Alkanet's response.  
  
"For reasons I cannot even begin to comprehend, the thief merely knocked our Abbess unconscious. The stain upon her throat was nothing more then a red dye. In short, it was faked and we were all fooled." As the infirmary keeper spoke, a fresh wave of murmurs and whispers rippled through the hall as all of the abbey beasts wondered why their enemy would do such a thing. The murmuring however ceased immediately as their abbess walked into the hall, still wearing her nightgown, a slightly faded red stain across her throat.  
  
"My fellow abbey beasts, I assure you that I am perfectly fine and that we shall get the bottom of this incident, but for now it is in all of our best interests that we get along with our lives." The otter maid spoke with a soft voice, a voice with which she calmed the nerves of the abbey beasts. "Please, all of you go about your duties. All members of the council shall come with me to my room to discuss these matters, anybeast who saw the thief is asked to attend as well." With that the Abbess strode off down the hall, a select few Redwallers following behind her, leaving a mostly empty corridor as everybeast went their separate ways, going about business as usual. Nimbalo however stayed where he was, a deep look of thought upon his face.  
  
"Deyna must know of this . . ." He muttered with a nod, making up his mind about what to do. Moving quickly the mouse made quick trips to both the armory and the kitchens, loading himself up with supplies and his trusty axe before slipping out the west gate into the woods, following his friend's footprints.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
As Nimbalo set off in pursuit of Deyna, the leader of the horde that the otter was hunting sat comfortably in his throne at the back of his private tent, alone save for his wife, a beautifully delicate creature with pure white fur. She watched as her husband toyed with the sword of Martin, showing it off in front of her as she merely looked on, a downcast expression upon her face.  
  
"What is wrong, m'dear?" Olin cooed, rising from his throne to be next to the female pine martin, sliding an arm around her waist lovingly, but she simply shrugged his paw off moving away a step. "What is wrong, Pearl?" Olin asked again, this time demanding the answer, his voice taking on a commanding tone as his paw gripped the sword tightly.  
  
"Tis nothing, milord." She answered simply, but it plainly obvious that it was a lie, angering the warlord as she glared at him with a cold eyes.  
  
"Tell me. I know that there is something wrong." Olin demanded, stabbing his sword deep into the earth in his frustration. Then, suddenly the pine martin's demeanor changed, his features lightening, anger replaced by worry. "Please? Tell me, Pearl." He asked her in a soft, caring voice as he placed a comforting paw upon he shoulder, but the maid simply shook her head 'no'.  
  
"Olin? What happened to you?" With that she left the tent, brushing a single tear from her eye as she glanced back at the angered warlord. In his frustration, the warlord pulled his sword from the earth, glancing around for something to take his anger out upon when suddenly, from the shadows stepped a dark furred vixen.  
  
"What plagues ye, milord?" She asked in an unusually gruff voice, the dim light inside the tent revealing her to be a young vixen, her fur pitch black, yellow eyes glowing before the shadows.  
  
"I do not know fox, that is your place." Olin stated, gritting his teeth as if in pain as he raised the sword threateningly, but at a glance from the vixen he stopped, freezing completely. The vixen removed a small bag from a pack that was camouflaged, hidden in her fur, blowing a bit of powder into the warlord's face she began to recite something in a long forgotten, unknown language as the pine martin's eyes began to droop, his body swaying sleepily. Outside the tent Pearl was listening to all of this, her ear pressed up against the fabric of the tent as she spied upon her husband and his unknown visitor.  
  
"You shall conquer the abbey, without the sword their fates are sealed." The vixen spoke the final words normally before removing a strange colored vial from his pack, forcing its contents down the warlord's throat. Unable to control her curiosity, Pearl sneaked a peek into the tent to find her husband seemingly in a trance, his eyes wide open, yet blank.  
  
"Yes Arrikaj, I shall not fail you." At these words Pearl left, sneaking off through the camp to the edges, searching for somebeast. Finally she found him guarding the eastern edge of the camp.  
  
"Hallan!" She called out as she neared the weasel sentry. Turning quickly Hallan went to meet the pine martin maid, noticing her tear stained cheek fur.  
  
"Pearl, what's wrong?" He asked, setting his spear down against a tree as he went to comfort the maid.  
  
"We have to act soon, I don't know how, but that vixen is controlling him somehow." She spoke rapidly.  
  
"Wait, not here." Hallan whispered back, hushing Pearl as he collected his spear, leading them away from the camp a bit and into the woods.  
  
"Did Kyin get out the message?" Pearl asked once she was certain that they were safe.  
  
"He says he did and I trust him, don't worry. It shall be soon." Hallan whispered in a comforting tone, glancing up at the slowly rising sun.  
  
"I sure hope you're right . . ." Pearl muttered, following the weasel's gaze to stare at the rising sun, which had turned the sky a beautiful shade of crimson.  
  
"I hope so as-" The weasel never finished as he knocked unconscious by the butt of spear, turning to face the culprit, Pearl found the spear flying at her and then everything was darkness for the pair, their attacker standing over their bodies with a satisfied smile upon its face. 


	5. Chapter Five

~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter Five~  
  
Watching the two beasts that he had caught, both of them vermin scum that he'd spotted at the edges of the camp to which he had tracked the thief, Deyna found himself in a struggle with himself. The bloodlust demanded that he killed them, to find his revenge in their spilt blood, trying to force the otter to kill in a blind rage. The former Taggerung however, fought the urges, knowing that he would have to use them later in order to figure out what was going on and to find out why a vermin horde would be this close to his home. In his haste to avoid discovery by any other horde beasts, the otter had bound and gagged them both with strips of their own clothing, tossing away anything they had that could be used as a weapon before dragging the pair into the deeper words.  
  
"C'mon, scum." Deyna muttered as he leaned against a tree, waiting impatiently for one of them to awaken so he could have his answers. Lucky for him, at those words one of his prisoners stirred, the female coughed as her eyes flickered open and she found herself upon the ground staring up at the armed otter, a rage burning in his eyes as he looked down upon her.  
  
"Mrfle." The pine martin mumbled as she tried to speak around her gag, suddenly finding the otter's spear at her throat, silencing her from any further mumblings.  
  
"I'm going to undo the gag, scream and I swear that this spear shall end you." Deyna spoke in harsh words, pressing the spearhead into the maid's throat to punctuate his threat before tearing off the gag with a single quick movement of the weapon. With a quick glance to make sure that his other prisoner was still out, the otter returned the spear's blade to the maid's throat, motioning with one paw for her to speak.  
  
"So you kill innocents as well. You'd love my husband." She spoke as though she knew the otter, her tone unnerving the otter a bit as he lowered the spear a little, her eyes boring into him as she moved into a more comfortable position leaning against a nearby tree.  
  
"Silence, vermin. You're no innocent. One of your fellow scum murdered my sister an' I want to know why." As he spoke, Deyna leaned closer to the maid, giving her an icy glare, eyes full of mistrust and something else. Confusion and anger, that was what Pearl saw within the otter's soul, it was obvious to her as she chuckled calmly at his inner struggles, only angering him further. "Use your tongue or I shall rid you of it." Deyna growled angrily, stepping back from the maid, gripping his spear tightly in frustration at the pine martin's calmness.  
  
"Did ye murder him?" She asked in a cold tone, testing the otter, jerking her head in the direction of the unconscious weasel guard.  
  
"I'm no murderer, but if he threatens me . . ." Deyna let the threat hang in the air, but the female did not seem to show any worry as though she knew the otter wouldn't, her calm demeanor staying strong.  
  
"No, you're not a murderer are you? But neither is he. Kill him and you'd only be killing a slave." At these words a look of confusion flitted over the otter's face. "Check his wrists if you do not believe me." Deyna did as he was told, bending over the unconscious weasel to check his wrists, there glinting in the rising sun were a pair of manacles minus the binding chains, the same kind Deyna had seen back when he had still been the Taggerung.  
  
"If he's a slave then why is he out here where he could escape?" Deyna asked, not seeing the logic in something so obviously flawed.  
  
"My husband, the master of the camp, has his sister hostage. He defects, he runs, he resists, he disappears and Olin will kill her. Same way with Kyin." Pearl explained, her demeanor calm and collected, almost sounding as though she were explaining things to a child.  
  
"Kyin?" Deyna asked, unsure of whom the maid was talking about, unnerved at how much she seemed to know about everything.  
  
"The thief that you're looking for I believe." Her reply unnerving the otter, the maid simply smiled. "He's a slave as well, he's bound to follow in the same fashion as Hallan. They can do nothing else. They are not who you want."  
  
"Why don't I? The scum murdered my sister!" Deyna cried out, waving his spear in a dangerous fashion, finding the rage building up inside of him once more.  
  
"You don't know then do you?" Pearl asked with a smirk on her face, watching the confusion on the otter's face.  
  
"Know what?" He demanded, pressing the spearhead to her neck once more, his tone going cold again.  
  
"Check him for a dagger." She said, jerking her head in the direction of the weasel that by now had begun to stir. Doing as he was told again, keeping the spear to the maid's throat as a precaution, the otter came up with up with a pair of daggers, one of them with a red stain across its edge.  
  
"Say the scum ain't a murderer, look at this! Tis her blood right here!" He cried, holding the stained dagger up to the maid's face, considering it to be his undeniable proof.  
  
"Smell it. It's not blood." A voice came from behind the otter. Glancing back the otter found that the weasel had awakened just in time to find Pearl with a spear against her throat. Struggling a bit to sit up, the weasel got himself to where he could look up at the otter, his eyes filled a strange sort of anger. "Go on, smell it before ye do something ye will regret." Taking a sniff of the red stain Deyna didn't find the familiar sickly, sweet smell of blood, but a different, earthy smell. "It's only a dye."  
  
"Never saw her die did ye? Never saw an actual wound did ye? She's back at Redwall with nothin' more than I headache I presume." The maid continued for the weasel, a twisted sort of smile on her face as she stared up with a knowing look in her eyes.  
  
"Why would you fake such a thing?"  
  
"Ta get you out here, I would have thought ye would have gotten that by now. Guess it ain't all that obvious to ye." Pearl replied, shaking her head a bit at the otter.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because we want to all get out of here. We need you so we can stop Olin." Hallan replied for the pine martin maid as he struggled with his bindings.  
  
"But we don't want to kill him . . .he wasn't always the way he is now, used ta be a great leader, but now he's just a cold-blooded killer. There's a vixen involved. I don't know how, but she has been manipulating him for quite a while now . . .we need both of them alive." Pearl turned away for a moment, trying to collect herself and regain her composure.  
  
"You love him don't you?" Deyna asked, seeing his sister mirrored in the maid.  
  
"Yes, as he used to be. It's being in love with a memory though . . ."The maid trailed off into silence, her eyes glistening with tears.  
  
"Wait, how long have we been away from the camp?" Hallan cut in, a look of fear and worry upon his face.  
  
"Maybe an hour or so." Deyna answered, confused by the identical looks of fear upon both Pearl's and Hallan's faces.  
  
"Oh no . . .you don't think?" Pearl began, a look of horror now gracing her features.  
  
"Wait, maybe we can make this work. Quick, otter, untie us already." Deyna did as he was told, though he didn't like being called 'otter' in such a way.  
  
"It's Deyna." He muttered as he quick slashed at their bonds, immediately both rose to their foot paws.  
  
"An' I'm Hallan an' this is Pearl, but that doesn't matter now. What you have to do now is take her back to Redwall and warm your home. I can go back to camp and say you kidnapped her in retaliation for the theft at your abbey, but first slash me with your spear." Hallan ordered, speaking as quickly as he could.  
  
"What? Slash you? Why?" Deyna stuttered, confused by such a request.  
  
"You have to or else he'll kill my sister, it has to look like you overpowered me. As if I tried at least or else this won't work. Do it." Hallan commanded, giving the otter an open shot at his torso. Deyna struck out with spear, bring the point across the weasel's chest to leave a shallow, vertical slice through Hallan's clothes and skin.  
  
"Okay, now go!" Hallan commanded, gripping his chest with a paw, wincing at the stinging pain of the fresh wound as without further ado, both Deyna and Pearl took off, heading south through to woods towards Redwall Abbey. With a last glance at the retreating pair, Hallan took off running for the camp, hoping that he would not be too late. While this was happening, Nimbalo crossed the River Moss, his battle-axe held high as he followed his friend's paw prints, he too hoping that he would not be too late. 


	6. Chapter Six

~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter Six~  
  
The noonday sun hung high in the sky, sending down golden shafts of light through the leaves of the trees, decorating the forest floor with beautiful golden patterns. Oblivious to all of this was a young mouse, running flat out, an axe held high above him as he tore through the forest foliage glancing up every so often to check where the cloud of smoke was. Nimbalo had found the tracks of his friend faded early in his journey, but luckily had spotted the smoke billowing from the vermin camp, knowing that it had to be Deyna's destination. His lungs burning and his body pleading for rest, the mouse slowed his pace, jogging through the forest at a more comfortable pace along a natural path.  
  
"C'mon, we 'aven't got any time." Nimbalo froze as he heard the voice, along with the sounds of somebeast running through the forest, coming towards him. Stepping behind a tree where he was sure that they would pass, since they would most likely be following the path as well.  
  
"Where are we goin'?" A female voice asked, plainly out of breath, as they drew ever closer. Crouching down behind the tree, Nimbalo stuck the pole of his axe out across the path.  
  
"Anywhere, but back there . . ." The first voice replied, also out of breath, as Nimbalo waited as the sounds of the two beasts drew closer until then, in a flurry of fallen leaves, one of the beasts went down hard to find the blade of the mouse's axe at her throat.  
  
"Nimbalo?" The mouse glanced up to find a blade at his throat as well, but the true surprise was who held it, for there at the other end of the spear stood Deyna, panting heavily, a look of surprise on his face.  
  
"Deyna, wot are ye doin' out 'ere with . . ." Nimbalo paused for a moment as the beast he had tripped rose to her foot paws, an annoyed look on her face as a look of shock passed over Nimbalo's at the sight of the pine marten. ". . .A marten!" With a growl Nimbalo's paw shot to his axe, as he raised the blade aggressively. With a look of fear in her eyes, the marten back away quickly.  
  
"Don't!" Deyna cried, grabbing his friend's axe in on paw to prevent him from using it. "Her name's, Pearl. She's with me an' we're running from . . ." Deyna paused for a moment as Nimbalo lowered his weapon away and Pearl rose to her foot paws, Deyna and Nimbalo's eyes both upon her. "Nimbalo?"  
  
"Yeah, Deyna?"  
  
"Is Mhera alright?" The otter asked, his eyes suddenly full of mistrust for the female marten.  
  
"Aye, she's perfectly fine, mate. She was no more hurt then ye were by that thief, that's wot I came ta tell ye." Nimbalo replied, cautious eyes upon Pearl as she stood there, the look of fear slowly fading from her eyes. "So, why are ye wit a marten?"  
  
"Tis a bit of a story an' right now we 'ad best get movin'. I'll tell ye on the way back to Redwall." The otter said, noticing that Pearl seemed to flinch at the mention of the abbey. "C'mon, we 'ave ta hurry an' warn them." With that they all took off running for the abbey, Deyna explaining the whole story for Nimbalo in between hurried breaths as they ran, telling the mouse what had happened and what would.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
As Deyna, Pearl and Nimbalo ran, Hallan had run back into Olin's, clutching his chest, falling at the edge of the camp in fake show of pain. Suddenly he was surrounded by guards who searched the weasel quickly before dragging him off to Olin's tent, unceremoniously he was thrown before the warlord, face down in the dirt, Hallan found the great sword of Martin pressed to his throat.  
  
"And what happened here?" Olin chuckled at some unspoken jest, walking around the fallen weasel, his blade always to Hallan's throat. Outside the guards chuckled as well, almost as if on cue, but it ended quickly as the marten shot them a cruel glare. Bending down before the weasel he grabbed him by the throat, pulling him forward until their faces were right next to each other. "So what happened, weasel? You were the last one they saw her with, so what happened? Hmm?" Olin asked in an icy voice, shaking the weasel violently as he struggled to answer the warlord's inquiries.  
  
"It was some otter, I don't know from where . . .he snuck up from behind us an' took her. I tried ta stop 'er, but there was nothin' I could do . . ." Hallan tried to explain, his voice choked by the paws on his throat.  
  
"You have failed me, Hallan, punishment is in order for . . ." Suddenly the marten seemed to hesitate, stuttering a moment before standing to address the guards that stood outside. "All of you leave now! Patrol the edges of camp, make sure no other beasts are around." Olin bellowed and at the order, everybeast scrambled away from the tent. They knew what the marten's tone meant and nobeast wished to be around him. Olin stood, sweating heavily over the fallen weasel, staring out the tent until suddenly the marten collapsed onto the floor of the tent.  
  
"Olin?" Hallan whispered, plainly shocked by what he saw, Olin lay shivering on the floor, eyes open in fear.  
  
"Help . . ." A small voice escaped from the marten's throat, Hallan made a move to rise, but from somewhere behind the weasel came a blow from the butt of a staff and he fell, dazed, but not unconscious as he watched a shadow step over him, a length of rope dragging on the ground before it. Soon, Hallan found himself bound tightly with the rope, a gag over his mouth for the second time that day.  
  
"Damn, marten. Stop fightin' it already." He heard a gruff, but unmistakably feminine voice curse somewhere above him as the shadow moved to Olin's side.  
  
"Ne- . . . ne- . . ." The marten tried to respond with something, but a swift kick from the shadow silenced Olin as the creature stepped from the shadows to reveal herself as a black furred vixen, her yellow eyes, full of hate and greed, glowing in the low light of the tent. She stooped down at the marten's side, forcing some strange potion down the warlord's throat, whispering something in a nonsense language as she did so.  
  
"You shall obey, Olin." She muttered the final words in an understandable language. The marten rose to his foot paws at her words, his eyes completely blank, an empty, emotionless void. Suddenly it clicked in Hallan's half-conscious mind, it was the vixen that Pearl had spoken of, their common enemy.  
  
"Yes, Arrikaj, I shall." Olin stated emotionlessly before suddenly his eyes seemed to flicker back into life and the marten turned to face the vixen.  
  
"The weasel knows too much, milord. You must execute him immediately and begin the march upon Redwall tonight, after his funeral." The vixen faded into the shadows, an evil grin upon her face. The warlord stood, blinking for moment before snapping into life, grabbing Hallan by his neck, dragging the bound weasel into the center of the camp.  
  
"You two!" Olin commanded pointing at a random pair of beasts, a fox and a rat who immediately stood at attention. "Get a fire going." He ordered, glancing down at Hallan with a cruel grin. "We're going to have a roast tonight!" A look of shock passed between the pair of beasts, as Hallan glanced up, fear obvious in the weasel's eyes, everybeast knew what the warlord had planned. 


	7. Chapter Seven

~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter Seven~  
  
Slowly the sun began to descend down into the horizon, its glow casting long shadows across the vermin encampment where, at the very center, a tall stake stood up from the earth. Bound tightly to the stake was Hallan, his head hung in sorrow, before him, piled high, was kindling, a small campfire burning beside it. Everybeast in the horde was gathered for the execution, some stood laughing at the unfortunate weasel, while others stood back, expressions of sorrow etched on their faces. Even the prisoners had been brought out to watch, about a score of horde beasts guarding them. That was where Shale stood, watching her brother, chains binding her to the other slaves, Kyin and his sister by her side.  
  
"I swear it, Olin . . .you will pay." Kyin muttered under his breath, growling softly at the marten that stood just across the flames, smiling. With a sigh, Kyin glanced around the camp, finding the divisions to be obvious. The beasts that stood by the slaves were the older members of the horde, those beasts that had witnessed their leader's metamorphosis in a cold, murderous warlord. On the other side of the fire stood Olin, surrounded by the newer members, all of them worthy of the title of 'vermin', an assortment of thieves, assassins and other sorts of scum.  
  
"Silence!" Olin yelled out, a dangerous glint in the marten's eyes as he raised his paws for silence, quickly everybeast quieted until there was only the sounds of silence, even nature seemed to hold its breath. "I would say it is about time that we begin our little party, wouldn't you agree?" At these words a cheer went up from the newer members, the older beasts standing silent in disgust for their leader.  
  
"I swear I'll kill you, scum! You will pay!" Kyin shouted, struggling against his bonds, but his cries were lost in the roar of the crowd, only heard by those standing close by. As the crowd quieted down, Olin motioned to a stoat that walked slowly to Hallan's side, a dagger in its paw.  
  
"I'm sorry ol' friend, I truly am . . ." The stoat whispered as he stood next to the bound weasel, a look of disgust upon his face as he stared out into the crowd, finding the weasel's sister there. Her eyes staring into his own, watching the stoat's every move.  
  
"I know . . .I know . . ." Hallan replied sullenly, not even lifting his head to glance at the stoat that began to inspect the ropes that held  
  
"Do not worry, they'll take good care of your sis'. If I can cut through the ropes quickly enough, just make a break for it an' run, they'll look after little Shale." The stoat stepped away from the stake and moved to Olin's side, saluting sharply. "Ropes are tight an' secure, sir."  
  
"Very good." Olin muttered, nodding his head in response before stepping to within a few feet of the bound weasel, the sword of Martin in his paw. "So, Hallan. Do you have any last words?" Olin asked, a smile upon his face as he lifted the weasel's chin up so that they could see eye-to-eye.  
  
"I don't save words fer scum like you." Hallan replied, glaring at Olin, his hatred for the marten plainly obvious to anybeast.  
  
"So you don't have any last words, Hallan? Not even for your poor little sister. Well, do not worry then. I'll take good care of your sister, you can count on that." Olin's cold words lit a new fire within Hallan's soul as he fought with his bindings, snapping at the marten that stood just out of his reach, smiling at the weasel's struggles.  
  
"Touch 'er an' die, scum!" Hallan cursed the marten, trying to free his paws, a fire burning in his eyes as he fantasized about ripping Olin to shreds.  
  
"Very good last words I must say, but I do believe that we best get on with it. Wouldn't you say?" Olin replied with a calm demeanor, cold eyes staring back into Hallan's own, as the weasel calmed down a bit, his snarls of rage quieting into a soft growls. "Begin." The marten gave the order, his eyes narrowing in hate as he stepped away from the weasel into the crowds of beasts who once again broke into cheers as the stoat began to pile the kindling around Hallan's ankles.  
  
"Shale." A voice whispered from behind the small weasel maid, glancing back she found a rat there, a nervous look upon his face. "Stay silent little one, I'll have ye out o' 'ere soon."  
  
"Hurry up, Jon. Ye haven't much time." Kyin whispered quietly out of the corner of his mouth, his eyes staring at the weasel, as the wood was piled ever higher until it was up around Hallan's waist.  
  
"Burn me lovely!" Shouts and jeers could be heard from Olin's side of the execution as the stoat lifted a flaming torch from the small fire, holding it up before the crowd, putting on the show that Olin wanted. The pine marten was trying to work his horde into a ravenous mob and so far it was working, a bloodlust had spread over the scum.  
  
"C'mon we have to go now, Shale." Jon whispered, tugging at the maid's shirtsleeve as she stood, rooted to the spot, staring at her brother's execution, watching as the flames were put to the kindling, igniting them quickly. The weasel's breathing was heavy as he felt the flames lick his foot paws and legs, burning away his fur, he grimaced in pain, gritting his teeth so he would not scream, so he would not give the marten that pleasure.  
  
"Shale, you have to go." Kyin whispered to the young weasel maid, who stared at her brother, feeling his pain as she felt her heart being torn out, the remainder of her family dying before her eyes. "Shale, look at me." The weasel maid tore her eyes away from the flames to glance into Kyin's eyes, they were filled with the same pain and anger that she felt. "Hallan would want it this way, you have to live, for him." Shale bit her lip and nodded in response, burying the pain below as Jon lifted the maid and ran off into the forest.  
  
"Prisoner escape!!" A cry went up from the slave guards, one of them had seen Jon's crime and suddenly the horde disintegrated into chaos as beasts rushed to get their weapons ready. Jon ran, the maid on his back as a hail of arrows rained down behind them, none of them hitting anything more then bark or earth.  
  
"Gather the trackers and get them!" Olin screamed out in frustration, waving the sword of Martin about in anger, as he stared at the retreating form of his former slave. Suddenly the marten glanced back to the execution to find the fire burning brightly and their captive missing, his bonds lying on the ground, bits of burnt flesh and ash creating a trail off into the forest.  
  
"Sir, the tracker's are ready." A young rat materialized beside the warlord, saluting smartly as he stood before a dozen or so beasts, all of them armed to the teeth. Glancing at the forest for a moment the warlord appeared to pause for a moment, deep in thought, before he answered the rat.  
  
"Forget it, we do not have time for such things." The marten said, a calm demeanor reasserting itself over Olin as he called for his captain. "Gather everybeast and get the camp packed up, we march on Redwall tonight!"  
  
Meanwhile, off in the forest, the vixen watched with a smile upon her face before she disappeared into the shadows. Everything was going as planned. 


	8. Chapter Eight

~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter Eight~  
  
Back at Redwall Abbey, Mhera had long since concluded the meeting between the Redwall elders and everybeast that had been involved in the recent theft. Most of the council and the beasts present simply wished for life to go on as usual until either Deyna or Nimbalo, who had recently been discovered missing from the abbey, returned with some news that they could act upon. Mhera sat up in her room, staring out the window at the treetops as the sun began to set behind them, hoping for some sign of brother and his friend. Suddenly, down below she heard and saw a commotion and then one of the wall guards burst into her room, plainly out of breath.  
  
"Abbess Mhera, it's Nimbalo, 'e's at the gate." The otter spoke in between ragged gasps of air as Skipper stepped into the room behind the guard, an expression of confusion on his face. Mhera glanced out the window again at the gate to find it shut tightly, numerous guards near it, all of them armed.  
  
"Skipper, why isn't the gate open?" Mhera asked, confused by the guards actions, wondering if the mouse had been followed or something worse.  
  
"Come wit me if ye will." The otter chieftain answered, beckoning for her to follow, hopping to her foot paws the otter maid quickly followed the Skipper up onto the wall. "He's got a marten wit 'im an' I can't jus' let 'em in wit' out knowin' that this ain't some sort a vermin trick." The otter explained as he leaned over the wall, staring down at the mouse and his strange company, Mhera followed suite and glanced down to find Nimbalo standing there, a look of irritation on his face, a pine marten maid by his side, a look of worry and fear on her face.  
  
"'Allo Mother Abbess!" Nimbalo called up cheerily, happy that the otter maid had showed up, hoping that she would let him in, but his cheery welcome was met with a demand.  
  
"Where's Deyna?" Mhera called down, a look of absolute seriousness on her face, fear in her eyes.  
  
"He heard somthin' back a ways an' went ta check it out. He should be back any moment." Nimbalo called back, but his response was met with silence so the mouse decided to push a little. "So, can we come in now?"  
  
"Tis yore decision, Abbess." Skipper said as the maid looked to him, hoping for a bit of advice, unsure of the marten maid's intentions or even why she was there.  
  
"Let them in." The abbess commanded and was quickly relayed to the otters standing behind the gates. With a gust of air, the doors to Redwall opened and quickly both Nimbalo and Pearl rushed in only to find half a dozen javelins pointed at her as Skipper and Mhera both descended to the Abbey grounds.  
  
"Be still, marten." One of the otters growled, his disgust with her obvious as she gulped in fear, her paws up in surrender.  
  
"'Ey, 'ey. Mateys, she's fine." Nimbalo said, trying to calm the overly anxious otters down as Skipper and Mhera came to their rescue.  
  
"Put those weapons down. Is that how you treat a fellow abbey beast and a guest?" Mhera asked, her voice seeming disappointed at the otter's manners. Quickly all the otters brought the javelins to their sides before Skipper took over.  
  
"Search 'er fer weapons an' the like." He ordered as the maid stood there, waiting for their decision on her as Mhera pulled Nimbalo aside.  
  
"Is he alright?" She asked, an obvious note of worry in her voice.  
  
"Aye, marm. He's plenty all right, but I think that ye best talk ta Pearl over there." The mouse motioned to the marten that had finished being searched thoroughly, Skipper's otters coming up with nothing, not even a knife and was now being held by the otter chieftain himself.  
  
"Let her go, Skipper." Mhera ordered and the otter freed the marten, a look of mistrust on his face as Pearl walked slowly to the abbess' side.  
  
"I've come here to warn you." She spoke in a low tone, her words only for the ottermaid's ears.  
  
"Warn us?" The abbess wondered in a soft voice, a little confused.  
  
"Your abbey is in grave danger." Pearl continued, her demeanor completely serious.  
  
"Danger, from what?" Mhera asked, a bit of fright in her voice.  
  
"A horde is coming to take this abbey, they far outnumber you, but I have a plan that could spare your abbey." The marten spoke in an even lower tone as Skipper drew nearer to them, his eyes watching Pearl closely, looking for any signs.  
  
"What's in it for you?" The Abbess asked, eying the marten warily.  
  
"My friends freedom and hopefully my husbands as well." Pearl replied, glancing at the ground for a moment, letting out a soft sigh.  
  
"Your husbands a slave?" Mhera asked, wanting to know more.  
  
"No, he is the leader of the horde, but . . ." Pearl glanced at the ottermaid for a moment, wondering if she would believe the truth. "He is under the influence of a vixen. I'm not sure of her motives, but she wishes to conquer this abbey." At these words, Mhera turned to Nimbalo.  
  
"Do you trust her?" She asked the mouse, wanting to have some assurance.  
  
"Aye, marm. That I do, an' so does Deyna." The mouse answered, completely serious, taking on a tone that was quite unlike his normally upbeat, almost hare-like demeanor.  
  
"Okay, so what is this plan that you have?" Mhera asked, leading both Nimbalo and the pine marten maid over into the Great Hall, and upstairs to her private chambers. An hour or so later, as the sun began to dip below the horizon, the walls were lined with guards, the gates had been barricaded and everybeast's eyes were on the lookout for the vermin horde and their Abbey warrior, Deyna, who was still missing. 


	9. Chapter Nine

~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter Nine~  
  
Night had begun to fall upon Mossflower County as the last light of the day shone over the lands. From the ramparts of Redwall, fires could be seen dancing through the woods, coming ever closer. High above, hanging there in the rapidly darkening sky, was the moon, shining with a white light, pale as death, an omen for both sides of the horrors that were to come. As the horde drew nearer the guards of Redwall could see the divisions of the horde clearly, about a third of the beasts bore red bandanas, setting themselves apart from the others, all of them the original members. Quickly everybeast on the ramparts prepared, notching arrows to bows, fitting stones to their slings, preparing for the time of battle that was upon them.  
  
"Remember everybeast, don't hit anybeast with a red bandana on." Skipper whispered to his crew. The message spread quickly through the ranks of otters and other beasts, a scattering of mice, squirrels and such. Glancing down at the horde, Skipper to a quick count of their allies to find that the number of beasts donning the red bandanas was considerably less then those adorning none. With a sigh, Skipper glanced back to the main building where he knew that all the helpless beasts waited, the dibbuns, elders and any other beasts that were unable to fight; their fate was up to the defenders of Redwall now.  
  
"Aw . . .but we wanna go an' see Skippa choppa dere tails offa!" The dibbuns would whine as the elder beasts tried to keep them calm and safe within the abbey dormitories, using tales of old heroes and battles of seasons past, entrancing the little ones, as a new story was written just outside.  
  
"What do ye want here, scum?" Skipper called to the horde as it drew closer to the abbey, the otter chieftain standing tall upon the ramparts of Redwall, flanked on either side by a score or so of otters, each and every one of them armed, all of them at the ready.  
  
"Halt!" Olin ordered to his horde, raising a paw as they stopped about forty yards or so from the gates of Redwall. The marten glared up at Skipper, his eyes burning feverishly, glinting with evil intent in the moonlight. "We want your abbey otter."  
  
"Oh, is that so, mate?" Skipper replied, narrowing his eyes at the pine martin as he raised his paw. "Well, jus' try ta take it!" With that the otter chieftain disappeared below the wall, while a hail of arrows rained from the ramparts down into the horde, only a few finding their marks as a dozen or so horde beasts fell dead or wounded, while the others missed or were deflected by shields.  
  
"Find cover, everybeast!" Olin ordered his troops, sending the survivors scrambling for the ditches, a few horde members staying behind to loose their own arrows into the Abbey, slaying three of Skipper's otters as they rose to fire. Olin stood in the ditch as the hail of arrows ceased save for an arrow or two flying into the ditches, searching for the enemy. The marten's entire horde sat, awaiting further orders as they stared out onto the path where their comrades lay slain.  
  
"What are your orders, sir?" A rat asked, saluting as he stood next to his leader, a rapier in paw.  
  
"Get the slaves up here, we'll use them for shields." Olin ordered, growling as he glared up at the ramparts of the abbey, finding them devoid of anybeast, all of the otters under cover.  
  
"Sir, I can't do that." The rat replied, a nervous quaver in its voice as it took a step backwards away from the marten.  
  
"And why in the name of hells gates can't you?" Olin hissed, grabbing the rat by throat. He glanced back to find every single slave gone and about a third of his horde gone as well, everybeast that had been wearing a red bandana and suddenly it dawned on him. "Damn it!" The marten cursed, taking out his aggressions on the rat, slaying him with a quick movement of his sword. Olin allowed the body to fall from his paw into the ditch, a pool of crimson forming around it as the marten glared at the abbey of Redwall with contempt.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Meanwhile, at the eastern gate of Redwall Abbey, the freed slaves were quickly being led into the abbey along with a few of the vermin mothers and their babes as the original horde members reunited with their leader, Pearl. They had made a quick camp just behind the abbey, a half-dozen otters watching them carefully from above, sent by Skipper to watch them for any signs of treachery. At the gate, Abbess Mhera stood with Skipper, speaking with Pearl in low tones.  
  
"You know what to do?" Pearl asked the otter maid, watching as her beasts set about the camp, preparing themselves for their own battle, a few talking and eating, trying to forget their reality.  
  
"Yes." The abbess replied with a look of worry gracing her feature, her head slowly, trying to maintain a look of determination despite her apprehensions.  
  
"I'm fightin' too." Pearl looked to down to her right to find the small ferret, Kyin, next to her, both of his twin daggers drawn and at the ready, their keen edges glinting in the torchlight.  
  
"I understand, Kyin. You'll get your revenge, we all will." The marten nodded in response, putting a paw on the young ferret's shoulder, disappointed to see one so young lusting for blood, but she knew that he had a good reason.  
  
"Don't worry, marm, I'll 'ave it." With that the young ferret walked away, eyes burning with anger, his rage barely suppressed. Already the ferret could hear the sounds of the battle. Already he could see his revenge.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Meanwhile, in the ditches Olin's horde exchanged shots with Skipper's crew, none of their arrows hitting anything, only serving the purpose of preventing a true conflict. Olin gave out orders in hushed tones as he made his to the back of his troops, towards safer grounds, trying desperately to set up some sort of command post to attack Redwall from. However, behind the marten, unknown to him a tall shadow stalked him, following Olin's every move. The moonlight revealed only its eyes, clouded and confused, unaware of what was really going on, they watched the marten as it readied its spear for the kill.  
  
(pre) 


	10. Chapter Ten

~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter Ten~  
  
Sensing that something was wrong, Olin turned just in time to see the spear coming down in a deadly arc towards his, leaving no time for escape as in a flash of the blade the marten found himself on the ground, blood pumping from a wound on his chest a cry of pain tearing from his throat, staring up at his assailant, a great otter. Olin's troops heard the cry and turned to see Deyna standing there over their fallen leader, raising his spear for the kill.  
  
"Olin!" One of the horde beasts cried out, trying to make a move to save its leader, but in a flash a dagger sliced through the air with astonishing speed, much to the surprise of the horde beasts as well as Deyna, cleanly slicing the spear head from its handle. Out from the woods stepped a shadow, a black furred vixen in a flowing black cloak, holding a second dagger at the ready as she glared at Deyna with strange yellow eyes that pierced the darkness.  
  
"Get him!" She ordered in a commanding voice. At this Deyna was tackled to ground and subdued by a half-dozen horde beasts, knocked unconscious by a blow from one of their spear butts. Then they all stood at attention before the vixen, staring at her strangely hypnotic eyes, glancing down at their fallen leader.  
  
"Who are ye?" A heavily scarred fox asked the vixen, obviously mistrusting the mysterious beast, but not sure what to make of her. From up above on the wall, Mhera watched the scene unfold, lit up the full moon above. She was shocked by her brother's actions, wondering what would make him do something so obviously foolish.  
  
"I am Arrikaj, vixen empress of the southern shores. I am your new leader." She replied simply, sheathing her dagger quickly, as the fox moved towards her, most likely to denounce her claim.  
  
"You 'aven't got any claim to . . ." The fox fell backwards, silenced by a dagger through his throat.  
  
"Anybeast else wish to question my claim." No beast replied to this challenge and a large rat stepped up to the vixen, saluting smartly.  
  
"What're yore orders, milady?" He asked, keeping up the salute.  
  
"Keep them under siege." She ordered before pointing to a pair of weasels that stood, saluting nervously. "You two, take the otter and Olin and chain them up at the back of the line. They shall serve well as leverage." With a grim smile the vixen took Olin's weapons from him, strapping the sword of martin across her back.  
  
"Yes, Arrikaj." They saluted sharply, quickly going about their duty, chaining the two beast together and moving them to the back of their lines.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Meanwhile, upon the ramparts of Redwall, Mhera crouched down below, frozen by shock at what she had seen transpire below. She couldn't understand it, but she knew that there was something else that they had to worry about more now, something much greater. Skipper slowly made his way towards the otter maid as sling stones flew overhead, falling to the earth in a light hail.  
  
"Abbess, are you all right?" He asked with a look of concern on his face, worry in his tone as he placed a paw upon the younger otter maid's shoulder.  
  
"They have Deyna." She whispered, still in shock, shaking her head slowly in disbelief.  
  
"What? They've got Deyna? How?" Skipper cried out in surprise, turning the abbess so that they could look eye to eye.  
  
"He tried to kill Olin for some reason, but a vixen appeared behind him and stopped it all." Mhera muttered in a soft voice, before she figured it out. "Quickly, where is Pearl?" Skipper motioned for her to follow as he slid along, beneath the wall, being careful to stay out of the 'danger zones' where the sling stones fell down in a constant barrage. Within a few minutes they were at the camp where Pearl's horde sat around, preparing for the war that was to come, they found the marten maid near the abbey wall, sharpening a dagger.  
  
"Mhera?" Pearl stood as she saw the otter maid coming towards her, a look of anger on her face.  
  
"The vixen, she has Deyna." Mhera's voice was low, but still her anger and frustration were plainly obvious in her tone as well as in her features.  
  
"Deyna, how?" Pearl asked, setting the dagger down on a pack of supplies, facing the abbess directly, a look of concern upon her face.  
  
"He tried to kill Olin . . ." Mhera began quickly, but paused for a moment to register Pearl's reaction. "He got your husband with a spear, it was the vixen." Pearl froze for a moment, a blank look on her face as she tried to comprehend the news, she seemed to lose her balance and fell to her knees, a look of utter shock on her face.  
  
"What did she look like?" Pearl asked in a whisper, her voice cracking a bit as she glanced up at Mhera before suddenly she jumped up and seized the otter maid by her shoulders. "Did you see her?" A look of desperation washed over the marten's features.  
  
"Yes, I did, she was black-furred, dressed all in black cloaks and such . . .seemed like she was trying to be a shadow. And she had strange eyes, but that was all." Mhera answered in a calm voice, placing a paw on Pearl's arm, trying to comfort the anxious maid.  
  
"I swear, I will kill that scum . . ." Pearl hissed, releasing Mhera quickly and grabbing her dagger, moving towards the western path where the vixen awaited.  
  
"No, Pearl. Now is not the time for rash action. We need to wait for dawn." Mhera seized the marten by the shoulder, stopping her in a surprisingly strong grip. "You can't do Olin any good if you're dead." Pearl sighed, no responding for a moment as she glanced at the sun as it set upon the western horizon.  
  
"Very well, we shall wait for dawn. Then we will attack and send that scum straight the gates of hell . . . she will never do this again, a swear that." The marten shook with rage, a fire burning in her eyes as she made her proclamations.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Meanwhile, through the forest that stood on the southern side of the path moved a figure, a pair of eyes glowing in the darkness as it neared the unconscious and bound bodies of both Deyna and Olin. The eyes flickered with recognition as it spotted the two motionless bodies and within a few moments they melted away into the darkness and vanished into the cold night air. Up the path a bit Arrikaj stood amidst her troops, driving them on as they kept up a constant barrage of arrows and sling stones. The flames of their torches had long since been extinguished as the battle raged on in the darkness, lit only by the pale rays of the moon that hung high above in the heavens.  
  
"Keep it up, victory shall be ours!" The vixen shouted at the worn soldiers as they kept up the barrage, tired limbs and minds, wearied by the long day of marching and battle. Knowing this the vixen soon ordered a retreat, sending her troops away from Redwall for land where they would be safe to recuperate and prepare for the next day. Suddenly Arrikaj stopped short as she passed the blood stained ground where Olin had fallen into the dirt, even in the night it was obvious, she had been robbed of her hostages, both the otter and the marten had vanished like a wisp of smoke in the wind.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Pearl and her troops as well as Mhera, Skipper and his otter crew had been standing around a low burning bonfire attempting to come up with a plan to rescue their comrades with a minimal risk of life when suddenly a succession of a dozen or so beasts ran into the camp from the southern edge. All of them bore stretchers, makeshift ones created from spear and belts, three beasts; all of them unconscious were rushed into the camp.  
  
"Deyna!" Mhera cried out as she spotted her brother on one of the stretchers, his fur stained with blood as he laid there, head rolled to one side lifelessly. Glancing to the other two she saw a weasel and a pine marten, both in similar condition.  
  
"Olin!" Pearl quickly rushed to her husband's side, seizing the unconscious marten's paw as tears stained her cheek fur. Olin's body was battered and twisted, his fur caked with blood and dirt, tunic nearly ripped in half, but Pearl gave out a small sigh of relief as she saw that his chest still rose and fell steadily with shallow breaths. "Oh . . ." Pearl nearly vomited as she saw the third stretcher and who was on it, the horrors of what was there  
  
"Hallan . . ." Kyin had arrived just in time to see the weasel being carried in, just in time to see the full horror of what had happened to him. The entire lower half of the weasel's body had been blackened, all the fur had been singed off and much of the skin as well. Most of his fur had been burnt off and burns covered the weasel's entire body. It was a miracle that he was even alive, his chest still rising and falling in uneven, strained breaths, blood staining the weasel's mouth.  
  
"Quickly, everybeast, we have to get them into the abbey." Mhera ordered and quickly they were rushed into Redwall, everybeast hoping that it would not be too late. 


	11. Chapter Eleven

~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter Eleven~  
  
Against Sister Alkanet's will, the infirmary was packed wall-to-wall with abbey beasts and members of Pearl's troop, all of them standing in a eerie silence as the healer worked quickly upon her charges, enlisting the help of any beast close to her. Pearl, having been trained as a healer in her younger seasons, had set about cleaning the long chest wound of her husband, one eye always straying to glance at the shaking form of Hallan. The weasel lay on the bed, body shaking and shivering as if he were cold, short, ragged breaths escaping from his lungs; he was truly horrible to look at. At his side stood a very frightened looking Kyin, the ferret's eyes dulled in sorrow as he stared at the weasel, the form of what had been his friend.  
  
"Sister, will he be all right?" Mhera asked the healer in a low voice, moving from her place at Deyna's side to look at Hallan, her eyes full of concern and sorrow as she glanced at the weasel's friend, his eyes dulled in shock and anguish.  
  
"I don't know, Mother Abbess, I've never treated any beast with burns this severe. Only time can tell us if he will recover . . .I can only do so much for him . . ." Sister Alkanet slowly trailed off into silence, cursing herself on the inside, she hated the feelings that she had. She felt helpless to do anything, she had done all that she knew how to and all that was left was the wait. "All there is left to do is to hope."  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Outside of Redwall Abbey, by the western wall gate, the makeshift camp sat silent, a bonfire burning low in the very center of the tents, casting an eerie reddish glow across the darkened. A dozen or so guards stood around the perimeter, all eyes upon the darkened woods, each of them armed and ever at the ready for anything.  
  
"Hello there!" Three guards standing at the western side of the camp tensed as a loud voice broke the silence of the night and out from the shadows of the trees came a rat bearing a small weasel maid on his back.  
  
"Jon!" One of the guards, a dark furred ferret maid, recognized the rat immediately and rushed to his side.  
  
"Hey Fina . . ." The rat smiled a little as he stumbled under the weight of the maid, falling to one knee.  
  
"Are you okay?" Fina asked as she knelt beside the rat, taking the small weasel maid from him.  
  
"Yeah, I'll be fine, jus' tired that's all." The rat answered as he slowly rose back to his foot paws, a look of worry upon his face. "Did Hallan get 'ere all right? I got 'is sis 'ere all right" Fina didn't respond for a moment, a look of pain washing over her face.  
  
"He got 'ere, but . . ." Fina bit her lip as she tried to find a way to break the terrible news to the rat. ". . .He ain't doin' too well . . .last I saw of 'im he was bein' escorted to their infirmary. No beast is sure if he's goin' ta make it or not." Jon face fell as the news registered in his mind, he couldn't believe it and yet in the same moment he knew that it was the truth. He had seen the weasel just before he had escaped with the little weasel maid; he knew how badly the weasel must be doing.  
  
"Where is he?" Jon asked, stumbling a little as he walked towards the abbey with Fina close behind him, carrying the slumbering weasel maid in her arms.  
  
"He's in the infirmary. Here, I'll show ye the way." Fina grabbed the rat's paw, leading him slowly towards the abbey, Shale resting on her shoulder, snoring softly as the night breeze ruffled her fur slightly. Quickly the gate opened for the pair and they made their way through the halls of Redwall slowly, many of the abbey beasts getting out of their way, a mix of curiosity and fear upon their faces. When they finally reached the infirmary they found it to be half with worried creatures, most of them abbey beasts concerned for their warrior's safety.  
  
"Jon, you made it." Pearl stood from where she had been kneeling at her husband's side.  
  
"Aye, got Shale 'ere wit me too." The rat replied, blinking his eyes tiredly as Fina led him over to the bed where Hallan was, Sister Alkanet working on the weasel tirelessly. "How is he?"  
  
"Not too good. The healer has done all that she can . . ." Pearl answered, sighing as she glanced up at the still slumbering Shale, head resting upon Fina's shoulder. "All we can do now is wait and see what happens . . ."  
  
"She doesn't deserve this . . ." Some beast murmured in a soft voice that cracked slightly. Pearl turned to find Kyin standing against the wall, his eyes upon Hallan. "Shale doesn't deserve to lose Hallan . . .it just isn't right . . ."  
  
"Don't worry, Kyin. Hallan is a tough beast, you just watch. He'll be back on his foot paws soon." Pearl lied, trying to comfort the young ferret. She knew that it was an outright lie, she didn't even believe herself, but she knew that she had to keep some sort of hope alive.  
  
"None of this is right." Kyin continued on as if he hadn't heard the marten's words. "No beast deserves what that vixen has brought here." With an angry look upon his face the young ferret rose to his foot paws and quickly left the infirmary, dagger in paw.  
  
"Aye . . ." Mhera concurred in a soft voice, stepping to Pearl's side. "He has a point there, but for now I believe that it would be best if you went to rest. Everything will be settled in the morning."  
  
"Sounds good, best not fall asleep durin' a battle, eh?" Pearl smiled a fake smile, sighing as she took a last look at her husband before stepping towards the door. He had stabilized and was going to be all right. At least physically he would be, mentally was any beast's guess. Mhera watched the maid as she left before she turned to the other beasts that littered the infirmary.  
  
"That goes for all of you as well, can't be sleeping here either." The abbey beasts nodded their consent and silently filed out of the infirmary at their abbesses' orders, only Nimbalo and a few other close friends of Deyna lingering behind as well as Jon, Fina and Hallan's little sister.  
  
"Would it be all right if I left Shale to be with 'er brother?" Fina asked in a low voice, not wishing to wake the weasel maid.  
  
"I'll make up the bed by the window, she'll be right next to him." Sister Alkanet smiled slightly.  
  
"Here, I'll take her, you and Jon need to get some rest." Mhera smiled as she took the small maid from the ferret's arms, holding her carefully.  
  
"Thank ye, marm." The ferret maid replied, bowing politely before she led a half conscious Jon out of the infirmary bound for their camp.  
  
"Uggh . . ." Just as the infirmary door closed Mhera heard a sound, turning she found that Deyna had risen from his slumber and was holding his head in his paws, a look of pain n his face.  
  
"Deyna!" Mhera cried excitedly, but quickly quieted herself as she remembered Shale.  
  
"Mhera? Wot 'appened?" The otter warrior asked, blinking his eyes rapidly as they adjusted to the torch lit infirmary.  
  
"The vixen. . .she was controlling you. . ." Mhera was quickly cut off as it all came back to the former Taggerung, all of it. The ambush by the vermin, the vixen's spell as well as his actions, he remembered the bloodshed, the flash of the spear blade.  
  
"Oh no . . .what have I done. . ?" Deyna murmured as he stared as his own paws, there was new blood on them, a fresh crimson stain.  
  
"It wasn't your fault . . ." Mhera whispered, trying to comfort her brother, but he could not be comforted, he remembered it all, it was his fault. He had been aware of it all, but he couldn't help, but go along with the vixen's demands. He felt sick.  
  
"I swear . . ." Deyna began in a low voice, his paws balled into fists as a fire burned within him. "That vixen shall pay with blood." Teeth bared, the otter glanced over at the two other patients, he swore that he avenge them and make the vixen pay for her crimes.  
  
"Do not worry, brother. Tomorrow holds your chance." Mhera whispered, placing a comforting paw upon the warrior's shoulder as outside in the darkness of nigh the storm clouds gathered. 


	12. Chapter Twelve

~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter Twelve~  
  
The moon hung high in the sky over Redwall casting a cold, blue light over the silent abbey. In the silence one heard little save for the occasional hoot of a woodland owl, all beasts were resting for the coming morning, save for a single beast that crept in shadowy forest of the night. Glancing up at the abbey it could just make out the figure of the roving sentries on the wall, their weapons just showing above the wall as the stalked along beneath the cover the wall. Moving quickly the figure made its way to the wall, scaling it with the aid of a rope and hook, landing silently on the wall just above the southern gate similarly to how Kyin had done it the night before.  
  
"Hello, somebeast there?" A frightened voice asked, breaking the silence of the night as a lone mouse walked along, spear held out before him defensively, shaking with evident fear. Silently the figure threw itself back over the wall, hanging from the rope precariously as the mouse walked along the walls, a small lantern in his paw. "Anybeast there?"  
  
"No, no beast at all." A sinister voice answered, whispering in the mouse's ear as it drew its blade across his throat before letting the lifeless corpse fall to the ground. "That is one." As the blood began to pool around the mouse the figure stepped away from its kill, turning towards the main abbey building.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
"Did ye hear that?" An otter asked, a nervous look upon his face as he sat beneath the western wall, a long bow clutched in his paws.  
  
"Hear what, matey?" An otter maid by the name of Den asked, glancing down at the otter from where she crouched on the wall, watching for the enemy, a look of frustration on her face.  
  
"Ain't too sure, came from over on the southern wall, though . . ." The otter paused for a moment as he remembered something. "Where Russ jus' went." At this Den immediately issued orders.  
  
"You two cover this wall while we go an' check on things." The two beasts she had singled out saluted as Den and the otter disappeared into the darkness, both of them with their weapons at the ready.  
  
"What exactly did ye hear?" Den asked in a low voice, her spear shaking slightly in the cool night air, the moon casting its glow over the walls as the walked along the wall, crouching beneath the battlements.  
  
"Sounded like somebeast fallin', metal on stone or . . ." The otter cut himself off as they found the mouse lying in a puddle of his own blood with eyes wide open in fear, spear lying unused at his side.  
  
"Redwaller down!" Den called out, shattering the silence of the night as the moon moved slowly through the sky and the abbey came alive.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Quickly Redwall had lit up as patrols began to stalk the halls in search of the killer, but they found no traces of the beast, they only found his victims. About a half dozen or so had been found, killed where they stood as they had been going about their duties, all of them had died identical deaths, a clean slice across the neck, a quick kill. Den had been wandering the main halls of the abbey, flanked by several other otters, each of them skilled warriors, when she had spotted it, a cloaked beast sitting against the side of the hallway, just across from the door of the infirmary, a dagger in paw.  
  
"You there! Toss away yer dagger!" Den commanded, raising her spear threateningly as she lifted a lantern so that she could see the figure better. It quickly complied with the otter's demands, tossing the dagger away down the hall before it rose, paws up in the air in a sign of defeat.  
  
"What's goin' on?" The figure asked, confused as is lifted off its hood to reveal a young ferret.  
  
"Oh, Kyin. It's jus' you. What're ye doin' out 'ere this time o' night?" Den demanded, still holding her spear tightly in her paws, not completely trusting of the ferret.  
  
"Jus' waitin' on news for Hallan . . ." Kyin replied, gulping nervously as he slowly lowered his paws. "So, what is goin' on?"  
  
"Seems that we got ourselves another thief stalkin' 'round the abbey killin' innocent beasts." Den paused for a moment to gauge the ferret's reaction, satisfied with it she lowered her spear before she continued on in a low voice. "We haven't spotted 'im yet so ye best be careful out . . ." The otter maid was cut off as the young ferret rushed past her, drawing a second dagger from his belt in the process before he slammed into a shadowy figure the stood just behind the otter maid and two of her guards, standing above the corpse of the third otter.  
  
"What the?" Den stuttered as she was knocked to the ground in the surprise, watching as the figure was tackled to the floor, revealing a dark furred weasel holding a crimson stained dagger. The fox went down hard, surprised by the blow, but his momentary pause was short lived as he immediately hurled the ferret off of him, throwing his cloak off in the process.  
  
"Bastard ferret." The fox cursed before diving at the fallen ferret with his dagger out, making it only half way before spear pierced his chest, sending the vulpine crashing to the floor, leaving a crimson stain on the abbey wall. Den and her two otters immediately rushed to their comrades sides just as the infirmary door swung open to reveal a very irate Sister Alkanet, dark circles beneath her eyes from a lack of sleep.  
  
"What in the name of the dark forest is going on out here? My patients need their rest and. . ." The sister immediately silenced herself as she came upon the scene, the fox lying dead just a few feet from her foot paws.  
  
"Well, now ye have quite a few more patients." Den replied in an equally irate tone, hefting an unconscious Kyin onto her shoulders as the pair of otter guards lifted their fallen comrade from the cold stone floor. Glancing down the hallway, the healer found other beasts coming towards them, all of them bearing makeshift stretchers.  
  
"Come." Sister Alkanet said, not showing even a trace of emotion as the line of injured and dead wandered through the peaceful halls of Redwall Abbey. 


	13. Chapter Thirteen

~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter Thirteen~  
  
The rest of the night passed over the Abbey of Redwall slowly as the rains of sling stones began once again as the moon reached its highest point. It was a lighter shower for the enemy horde was conserving its resources, but still enough to drive every beast to cover as the night went on. Outside the infirmary abbey beasts waited nervously on news of who had been injured and who had perished during the night. Finally Sister Alkanet came out to give the news of who had been slain just as the moon had begun to descend down into the horizon.  
  
Almost a dozen beasts had been slain, a half dozen otter guards, three of the abbey brothers that had been up doing they duties in the kitchens had been slain as well as two others that had been wandering through the dark halls, assuming their safety within the walls of Redwall. The infirmary now held four more patients in addition to her previous two, all of them suffering from badly inflicted wounds to the neck, but the Sister was confident that they could survive the wound given the proper care and rest. In the meantime however the Abbey readied itself for the ensuing battle, most of them trying to get some sleep, but no beast involved, whether inside or outside Redwall got much sleep that night.  
  
Finally, as the moon began to dip below the horizon, Pearl's forces had readied themselves hiding in the woods just to the south and north of their enemy, preparing to hit them from both sides. The sat, clutching their weapons, preparing themselves mentally for the horrors that were to come in the hours before them, as they waited upon the signal from Redwall, a whistling arrow that was to be shot by Skipper as Redwall exchanged shots with the vixen's horde. It would either be a bloodbath of a battle or there would be a quick and decisive battle depending on how the shadows worked.  
  
In the moments before the sun began to rise into the sky, Kyin moved through the shadows of the wood, being careful to remain silent as he search for his prey. Keeping to the shadows the ferret moved among the vixen's horde unseen, but Arrikaj was no where to be found, a ghost in the night. Making his way to the back of the troops he decided that he would dig in and wait for the vixen to make her appearance in the morning. It was his duty and desire to end the vixen's life. He was to cut the snake's head from its body, hopefully ending the siege of Redwall before too many perished. As he waited he listened intently to the soldiers, watching them as they prepared themselves for the battle.  
  
"So what d'ye think o' our new leader?" One of the horde beasts, a short rat, asked his companion, a female stoat.  
  
"I dun think too much of 'er. Fancy wit that blade o' hers, but she's still got ta prove 'erself. Ye think this is so wise?" The stoat replied, leaning back against a tree as she looked over her sword.  
  
"Ye mean attackin' Redwall? Maybe not the smartest idea a beast 'as ever 'ad, but if we win look at the rewards, even if the stories ain't true." The rat said, smiling slightly, probably imagining the spoils of war that were to be his.  
  
"Yeah, but still. . .it's Redwall." She said it as though it were a fact, enough reason contained within those two words for them to rethink their plans.  
  
"Aye, I know. We've all heard the stories. Hordes numbering thousands of beasts come to take Redwall and are turned away by the supposed peaceful beasts, coming back with mere handfuls of survivors." The rat glanced down at the stoat maid to find a worried look on her face. "I know what yer thinkin', but remember that that is just what they are. They're stories."  
  
"Yeah, but still . . ." She murmured, not really able to believe her friend.  
  
"They're jus' normal beasts jus' like you or me, it's not like they're magic or anything. You seriously don't really believe those sorts of stories?" The rat glanced at the stoat to find a slightly embarrassed look on her face, unable to contain himself the rat chuckled at the maid, patting her on the head to humiliate her further.  
  
"So what if I do? You've heard the stories, they're not beasts ta be taken lightly." The maid replied with a huff, glaring at the rat.  
  
"Here, I'll tell ye what, if the battle goes south we can always jus' retreat, I'll even go wit ye." The rat smiled reassuringly at the stoat that sighed before nodding her consent, with those words they disappeared away into the darkness, bound for the front of the horde, leaving Kyin alone.  
  
"Interesting . . ." The ferret muttered to himself before he too disappeared into the dark.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
As the sun began to rise over Redwall, turning the sky a fiery red as it cast its glow upon the newly formed storm clouds that stirred violently in the sky, It felt as though nature itself were preparing to do battle as well as the winds began to blow and the first drops of rain began to fall upon the decided battlefield. Skipper and his crew stood upon the western wall, slings and javelin at the ready as below Deyna and a small force of Redwallers waited behind the safety of the main gate. Before them the vermin horde began to come out of the forest and he vixen finally revealed herself, concealed mostly by a ring of guards that stood protecting her. There it began, the first volleys of the battle, the first blood to be drawn.  
  
"Redwaaallllll!!!" The ancient battle cry rose high above the battlefield as the main gate was flung open, arrows and sling stones flying high above them, the whistling arrow cutting through the air, soon enough the battle was in full swing, Redwallers fighting alongside Pearl and her forces, rain mixing with blood as the carnage ensued. The sky turned dark and the rain began to fall in sheets, lightning turning the battlefield an eerie white.  
  
Sitting on a tree branch at the back of the battle, Kyin quickly leapt from his perch, both of his twin daggers drawn. With hesitation he landing on an unsuspecting weasel, driving both daggers through its back as the young ferret began to fight his way through the battle towards the vixen. Moving around the outskirts of the battle he soon found himself in the company of allies as they found on in the storm, arrows flying from Redwall, killing indiscriminately.  
  
"Lookout, duck!" Somebeast called out and the ferret complied quickly, falling all fours as a spearhead scraped along Kyin's back, what would have been a deathblow. Out of the rains came Deyna, running through the attacker with his own spear as Kyin rolled forwards out of harms way.  
  
"I see her, the vixen!" The ferret called, pointing in front of him where the sword of Martin could be seen, flashing in the lightning as it cut through the air.  
  
"I've got her, you stay here." Deyna ordered as he began fighting his way towards the vixen.  
  
"Not likely, mate." The ferret replied in a low voice as he dodged away from another spear thrust, plunging his dagger into another enemy as he too fought his way towards the vixen.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Slowly the battle raged on until the first hour passed and the storm worsened, the rains began to fall ever harder, creating a fog of water as blood ran upon the ground, coursing over the fallen and through the long dead bodies of the slain. Arrikaj found her circle diminished to only a pair of guards that found hard, but she knew that they would fall eventually. During the first part of the battle she hadn't been fighting, saving herself for the time when it would be absolutely necessary and she had realized that the time had come. The might blade of Redwall in paw she fought fiercely, calling upon the training she had received in the southlands as she struck out with the sword, cutting down her enemies.  
  
"Vixen!" A voice called and Arrikaj looked to find Deyna rushed at her with his spear ready, a red fire burning behind his eyes as he rushed at her. Hefting the sword the vixen quickly blocked the otter's blow, cutting the spear in half in the process, smiling she lifted the sword high into the air for the kill as Deyna stood with the broken pieces of his spear in paw.  
  
"Die, otter!" The vixen cried out as her sword cut downwards towards the otter, but before the blade even made it halfway to its target, she was knocked to the ground by what seemed to be a blur of black. Growling angrily the vixen quickly jumped to her foot paws, holding the sword of Martin before her as she found her assailant, a young ferret in a drenched black cloak.  
  
"Bastard!" She cursed, striking out with her blade. The ferret jumped back quickly, just avoiding the blade, but the vixen swung the sword around for another strike, drawing a long diagonal slice across the ferret's chest, driving him to the ground. The vixen swung the sword high into the air once more, going for the kill as her eyes burned red and then it happened. A sudden flash of light lit up the entire battlefield in a blinding white, a deafening thunder crackled in the sky and then all was silent and still on the muddy path. The light faded, the wind began to die down, the rains ceased and the battle was over. 


	14. Chapter Fourteen and Epilogue

~Theft Of The Sword~  
  
~Chapter Fourteen~  
  
Hours passed and not a beast stirred below upon the battlefield, the rains had stopped and the entire world seemed to be holding its breath. Slowly the clouds departed and the sun shone on the scene of battle below, revealing the carnage that had taken place. Upon the western wall of Redwall Skipper and his crew stood, surveying the destruction of the battle, bodies littering the path. Their place in the battle had never come, the storm making them useless upon the wall, unable to fight for fear of hitting their own, they had been forced to take cover, only able to listen to the battle raging just outside the gates.  
  
Moving cautiously, Skipper and his crew slowly made their way out onto the battlefield accompanied by several Redwallers including Sister Alkanet as they looked for survivors. The dead lay in piles, but fortunately they found quite a few survivors, many of them having escaped with only minor injuries that would heal with time.  
  
"Horrible isn't it?" An otter whispered to his companion, a young mouse wearing the green habit of Redwall as they sorted through the bodies, always hopeful.  
  
"Yes . . .it is." The mouse replied in soft voice as he turned over the body of a long dead weasel, looking for a survivor when he came upon it. "Oh!" The mouse cried out in shock as he stared at the beast lying before him.  
  
"What . . .is . . .it?" The otter asked nervously, walking towards what had once been a living, breathing creature. It was completely black, burnt nearly to the bone, is paws frozen up in the air above its head.  
  
"It's that . . .damn vixen." A soft voice replied from behind them, spinning around the pair found a ferret lying there in the mud, a single eye staring up at them, helpless to do anything more then just lay there, barely alive. Quickly the mouse rushed to the ferret's side, checking him over to find that the ferret too had been burned much in the same way as the fox, but far less severe.  
  
"Are you all right?" The mouse asked, rolling the dead body of a rat off of the ferret.  
  
"Aye, I think that I'll be all right . . .at least . . .at least she won't be coming back . . ." The ferret managed a half smile as the mouse sat him up to find a long slice across his back, he had lost quite a bit of blood, it was evident by the crimson pool he had been lifted from.  
  
"Don't worry we'll have you up and about in no time." The ferret smiled at these words, staring down at his dagger, still clutched within his paw, everything seemed so far away. Everything was so gray and muted, but it was peaceful.  
  
"That's nice . . ." He replied in a whisper as he fell unconscious.  
  
"C'mon, we best get 'im ta the infirmary." The otter said, picking up the ferret carefully before taking off for Redwall.  
  
~~~~~~  
  
Just as the sun began to dip into the horizon the cleanup was finished, the graves had been dug and filled, the survivors were being cared for and the world seemed to be at peace once more. Roughly half of all the beasts that had gone into the battle had died, but it was over, it had been a relatively short battle, but no less brutal then any other. However, after the last beasts were taken in to Redwall it was discovered that the sword of Martin was mysteriously absent, lost in the battle. The great symbol of Redwall's history, a both peaceful and violent one, the symbol of one of their founders.  
  
"No beast 'as clapped their eyes on it yet?" Skipper asked Deyna after he had searched the ditches for the sword.  
  
"It was it her paws, but the flash I suppose. Perhaps she tossed it away in fear or something . . ." Deyna shrugged, he too had been scouring the woods for signs of the ancient battle blade.  
  
"Hey, Deyna. I believe that I've found what yer lookin' for." Nimbalo rushed to greet his friend, excitement on the mouse's face, as he eagerly led the way back to Redwall Abbey.  
  
"Where? Ye found it?" Deyna asked, confused by the mouse's antics as he pointed to the abbey gates.  
  
"There it is, right there. The Sword of Martin." Nimbalo pointed up high above the gates and there he saw it. There it was, standing out from the red sandstone of the abbey where it had been buried, gleaming blood red in the setting sun  
  
~Epilogue~  
  
~The past weeks have been odd to say the least, our peaceful abbey has once again been attacked as it has in the past and as it has in the past we have endured, but I find myself questioning everything that I formerly believed. For the first time in my life I have seen and heard of good vermin who helped to defend our abbey at a terrible cost to their own forces. Perhaps I can reason these things away as being to their benefit, but that would be sweeping it under the rug. That is something I cannot do for it is my duty as the Recorder of Redwall to document the truth and that is my goal.  
  
~I am proud to say that our abbey has lived up to its reputation and we have cared for every beast that was in need. Our good Sister Alkanet has done her job well, despite some pressure from a few of the more senior beasts that the vermin should be left to their own devices. By now beasts seem to up and about, already Olin has left with his horde, heading north towards their homelands. Around here all us abbey beasts are working hard to get things back to the way things were. Only four creatures are still among us. Kyin, Shale and Silver have stayed behind waiting for Hallan, but despite Sister Alkanet's best efforts the weasel is still bed ridden, but at the very least he is alive and conscious again.  
  
~There is some talk of the four staying at Redwall, which has some beasts worried, for many reasons besides the obvious, but I am hoping that there will not be any problems. I have faith in my fellow Redwallers and I hope that they will at least give them the chance. On a lighter not I suppose I may as well write down the good news. We're having a feast tomorrow, more of a memorial for our lost friends and family, but the sisters and brothers wish to make it a joyous event so that we may remember the good time that we've had, every beast is invited.  
  
~Hm . . .as hard as I try I cannot shake the questions, the past weeks have been such a whirlwind of events, I find myself with so many questions now. I suppose that it will take a feast to straighten me out. Well I must get going, there are preparations to attend to.  
  
~Rosabel, daughter of Broggle and Fwirl, ~Recorder of Redwall Abbey in Mossflower County  
  
~~~~~~  
  
~Thank You s~  
  
In no particular order.  
  
Thanks to Vix17, Kywen, Clara200, Ferretlover16, Silverrose Brighteyes, Catty Engles, Thomas Fitzgibbons, lucky4682, Redsplash, Flying Squirrel 15, Skipper-of-Otters and Purplefluffychainsaw for their reviews.  
  
Special Thanks also to Catty Engles, Kayla Silvercat, RedFerret16, Silverrose Brighteyes, Redsplash, Purplefluffychainsaw and Skipper-of- Otters for their help as well. 


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